Archive for the ‘ Dianne Feinstein ’ Category

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Hillary Clinton’s silence on the controversy over her e-mail use is likely to “hurt her” going forward.

By Sean Sullivan March 8, 2015 at 11:15 AM

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called Sunday on Hillary Clinton to “step up and come out” to explain in more detail why she used a personal e-mail account to conduct government business during her time as secretary of state.

The needle already was in the haystack. That essentially is the message embedded in the Democrats’ Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on CIA interrogations and detentions, approved without a single Republican vote and released by committee Chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

A U.S. senator for 22 years, Barbara Boxer will next face voters in 2016 if she decides to seek reelection. (Jenna Schoenefeld / Los Angeles Times)

By Cathleen Decker October 8, 2014

Now the real fun begins.

For California politicos who spent the last year yawning over a predictable top-of-the-ticket race, what has been shimmering in the distance is suddenly much closer. The next few statewide elections hold the promise of turnover unseen in a generation.

U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (Left) and Dianne Feinstein (Right).

By Seema Mehta November 7, 2014

Although U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein — two of California’s most experienced political figures — remain popular, a majority of state voters say they should not run for reelection, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.

The CIA acknowledged Thursday that its employees had secretly searched Senate computer files related to an investigation of the agency’s Bush-era harsh interrogation program, apologized to key senators and abandoned its previous insistence that it had done nothing wrong.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein thoroughly condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for his role in empowering Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists, during an interview with CNN on Sunday, largely laying the blame at his feet for the downing last week of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet.

The heads of the Senate Intelligence Committee suggested Sunday that the White House has done a poor job of sharing information with Congress about Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and his recent release from Taliban captivity.

Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said she has not seen any evidence that the Taliban would have killed Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl if details of an agreement had leaked, contrary to what Obama administration officials have said.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein

WASHINGTON — The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday the CIA improperly searched a stand-alone computer network established for Congress in its investigation of allegations of CIA abuse in a Bush-era detention and interrogation program. She said the CIA’s own inspector general has referred the matter to the Justice Department.

Without offering a hint as to her plans, Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday lamented the departure of longtime congressional colleagues from California — including retiring Reps. Henry Waxman and George Miller –and said their institutional knowledge and ability to compromise in Washington would be missed.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) offered a full-throated defense of the government’s collection of data on billions of American phone calls, saying Wednesday that the National Security Agency’s practices have safeguarded the nation without trampling on civil liberties.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. wants the Los Angeles World Airports to work with Ontario to bring an end to the decline of the Ontario airport, which the Inland Empire city contends is due to the LAWA’s lack of support. The Associated Press

Los Angeles should work with Ontario to improve passenger traffic numbers at L.A./Ontario International Airport, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein charged in a letter this week sent to L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. The letter dated Wednesday did not address a lawsuit filed in June by the city of Ontario, which is seeking to regain control of the airport from Los Angeles, the facility’s manager since 1967. Earlier this month, the two sides agreed to put the suit on temporary hold as they work out a solution.

Political news, election updates, for San Francisco CA and national politics Posted on December 14, 2013 | By jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com (Joe Garofoli)

It’s no surprise that only 11 percent of California registered voters who represented in the new Field Poll think Congress is doing a good job. (Who are THOSE people, and will they share their happy juice?)

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California)

Posted on November 12, 2013 | By clochhead@sfchronicle.com (Carolyn Lochhead)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday joined the ranks of worried Democrats demanding that President Obama allow people to keep their current insurance policies. Feinstein’s move is bad news for an administration desperate for good news following the roll-out debacle of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchange on Oct. 1, which has been plagued by technical problems.

California U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein

By Emily Cahn Posted at 1:16 p.m. on July 10, 2013

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., endorsed Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar for the Golden State’s 31st District on Wednesday, becoming the most high-profile Democrat to endorse in the state’s most contested congressional primary this cycle.

Data collected by the National Security Agency’s program that monitors Americans’ phone calls could be used to track millions of people’s locations through their mobile devices at any given time, according to people familiar with cellphone systems.

WASHINGTON — To advance a cause that has defined her political career, Sen. Dianne Feinstein brought the father of a child killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School to Capitol Hill, where he talked about the last time he saw his first-grader alive. She brought in police officers to press her case against her law-and-order opponents.

SAN BERNARDINO • Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Desert Protection Act is kicking up more dust in the High Desert as the pending bill threatens to shut down future mining prospects, San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor Robert Lovingood said.

Carla Marinucci

Carla Marinucci Updated 11:06 pm, Monday, December 17, 2012

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who led the charge for a federal assault weapons ban after a San Francisco massacre left nine people dead two decades ago, is again at the forefront of the battle over guns with her call for new legislation in the wake of the mass shooting that killed 20 schoolchildren in Connecticut.

High levels of hexavalent chromium, a toxic heavy metal, add to the hurdles Cadiz Inc. faces in its plan to ship water to the Southland.

By Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times July 21, 2012

The Mojave Desert groundwater thatCadiz Inc.wants to sell to Southland suburbs contains hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen, in amounts that are hundreds of times greater than the state’s public health goal for drinking water.

The presence of the toxic heavy metal, which occurs naturally in the aquifer Cadiz proposes to tap, could force the company to undertake expensive treatment, driving up the cost of the project and ultimately the price of its water.

WASHINGTON – After buying a chunk of land 50 miles north of San Francisco, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria just broke ground on a new, Las Vegas-style casino. It will be the largest in the Bay Area, with 3,000 slot machines, 200 hotel rooms, a spa, bars, restaurants and parking for more than 5,000 cars.

In New York, the Shinnecock Indian Nation is considering Long Island as a site on which to build the Big Apple’s first tribal casino.

Lawmakers will take on legislation sure to please most constituents and unlikely to alienate many at election time

BY BEN GOAD WASHINGTON BUREAU ben.goad@yahoo.com

Published: 08 January 2012 08:26 PM

WASHINGTON — Entering a contentious 2012 election season, Congress isn’t expected to tackle many of the nation’s most divisive issues.

Inland lawmakers hope to take advantage of the void left by shelved debates over immigration reform, health care, climate change and other battles by pressing forward with less controversial legislation focused on improving the region.

Here is how area members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending Dec. 2.

HOUSE

RULES FOR UNION ELECTIONS: Voting 235 for and 188 against, the House on Nov. 30 passed a Republican bill (HR 3094) to block a proposed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule to quicken the pace of union elections. Now before the Senate, the bill targets a labor-relations rule that could take effect by year’s end. Under the rule, elections on whether to form into a collective-bargaining unit could be held as soon as 10 days after the NLRB certifies the election petition. The bill would require a wait of at least 35 days to give employers more time to attempt to persuade workers to reject unionization, and it would give employers more say in determining which workers are eligible for the bargaining unit.

Issa

FROM STAFF REPORTS Published: 27 November 2011 07:24 PM

Once again, Inland Rep. Darrell Issa has been placed atop a list of the richest members of Congress.

Issa, R-Vista, whose invention of the Viper car alarm helped him amass a fortune, is worth at least $195 million and possibly more than $700 million, according to a report released this month by the Center for Responsive Politics.

With funds missing or frozen, a campaign treasurer facing charges and an election 14 months away, many go looking for money.

Reporting from Washington and Sacramento— A suspected embezzlement scheme that has ensnared hundreds of campaign accounts of Democrats has sent candidates scrambling for new cash as they prepare for an election season that could reshape California’s political landscape.

Washington — California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s campaign filed suit Friday against a small Los Angeles County bank and the Democrat’s former campaign treasurer, alleging that Kinde Durkee and her associates “stole millions” in funds from Feinstein campaign committees in the last two years.

Senator Dianne Feinstein speaks during John Bryson’s confirmation to Secretary of Commerce in Washington. | John Shinkle/POLITICO

By DAVID CATANESE | 9/22/11 11:04 PM EDT

Dianne Feinstein has had one of the worst weeks imaginable. Her campaign coffers were cleaned out, forcing her to dip into her own pockets to replace more than $5 million in stolen funds. Then the respected Field Poll piled on, reporting that on the eve of her 2012 reelection campaign, her approval ratings had hit a career low.

The good news? Despite all of it, almost no one thinks she can be beaten.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is up for reelection in 2012, will put $5 million of her own money into her race, the latest sign that a mega-fraud case involving a top Democratic campaign treasurer is roiling California politics.

Senator employed treasurer accused on fraud charges, but her office is unable to access accounts to see how much might be missing. Rep. Davis calls suspect ‘the Bernie Madoff of campaign treasurers.’

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said her campaign is among those that may have been “wiped out” by a Burbank-based Democratic campaign treasurer who was arrested on federal fraud charges earlier this month.

SACRAMENTO – A prominent Democratic campaign treasurer who works for federal, state and O.C. lawmakers including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Rep. Loretta Sanchez and state Assemblymen Lou Correa and Jose Solorio has been arrested by the FBI on suspicion of mail fraud, The Orange County Register has learned.

WASHINGTON – Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein remains more popular among California voters than her colleague Barbara Boxer, a new Field Poll shows.

But Feinstein can’t rest easy as she prepares for another re-election bid next year. For the first time since her initial 1992 election, less than half of the Californians surveyed consider themselves leaning toward Feinstein.

As expected, the Senate has rejected a Republican attempt to repeal the year-old health care law.

The ultimate fate of the controversial law is expected to be determined by the Supreme Court. But congressional Republicans emboldened by gains in last fall’s elections have made a priority of trying to wipe it off the books.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which requires the state reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, has San Bernardino County officials concerned about its impact on the region’s future economic growth.

Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors, at the urging of Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, unanimously voted to support the California Jobs Initiative, which calls for the suspension of the law, also known as AB 32, until the state’s unemployment rate drops to 5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters.

When Sarah Palin wrote a cheat sheet for an interview on her hand, liberal pundits gleefully bashed her. But only Calbuzz* will tell you that the ex-Republican veep candidate in doing so was simply following in the, uh, footsteps of California senior Senator Dianne Feinstein.

From Arianna Huffington to Andrea Mitchell, lefty pundits pounced on Palin, after photos showed that she’d scribbled brief talking points on her palm – “energy, budget tax cuts, lift American spirits” – before sitting for questions during last weekend’s big Tea Party convention. It’s notable, of course, that the words are among her most important, fundamental principles and so, presumably, might not need to be written on her palm. If she had fundamental principles.

WASHINGTON – After repeatedly criticizing California’s congressional delegation for failing to procure more funding for the cash-strapped state, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger played a different role this week when he met with the same federal lawmakers in Washington.

It was a kinder, gentler Schwarzenegger who spent the last two days making his pitch to federal officials for an additional $6.9 billion in federal money to help close the state’s $20 billion budget gap.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent another letter to California’s congressional delegation Wednesday asking for help in securing $6.9 billion, this time including past quotes from U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein that the governor implies were contradictory to her criticisms of him last week.

In his budget plan and his State of the State address, Schwarzenegger attacked the federal health care overhaul and blamed Washington for not paying California its fair share in reimbursements and for overburdening the state with Medicaid regulations. Feinstein said in return, “California’s budget crisis was created in Sacramento, not Washington.”

A report released Tuesday by the state’s nonpartisan legislative analyst said the Republican governor’s spending plan, which would close a $20 billion budget shortfall over 18 months, is built on risky assumptions — including agreement by Washington to rescue the state.

Arnold Schwarzenegger achieved fame and fortune by starring in celluloid fantasies, so it may be fitting that his final state budget proposal would be so disconnected from economic and political reality.

With the state still facing huge deficits, the governor bases his 2010-11 budget on such fanciful elements as persuading the federal government to cough up an extra $7 billion, asking voters to reverse themselves and shift money from protected pots for mental health and children’s programs, overhauling transportation financing, and persuading state employee unions to accept pay cuts and increases in workers’ pension and health care costs.

(01-09) 04:00 PST Washington – — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s demand Friday that the federal government plug a $6.9 billion hole in the state budget, two days after he charged that the federal health care bill is unfair to the state, struck a nerve with California’s Washington delegation.

Schwarzenegger is demanding that the administration fix what he calls flawed federal formulas and unfunded federal mandates that short-change the state on Medicaid, foster care, special education and the incarceration of illegal immigrants.

Doesn’t look like California is going to get much financial help from its Senate delegation.

Just hours after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made an impassioned argument for more federal funds — noting that the state gets back just 78 cents for every dollar it sends to Washington, D.C. — Senator Dianne Feinstein fired back. And she didn’t mince words.

Democrats win the vote 60-39 over Republican objections. It must be reconciled with the House’s legislation in the New Year before President Obama can sign off on his top domestic priority.

By James Oliphant

December 24, 2009 | 5:32 a.m.

Reporting from Washington – Senate Democrats this morning passed a sweeping healthcare overhaul bill, setting the stage for reconciliation early next year with similarly historic legislation passed by the House last month.

The vote was 60-39. It came after months of bitter partisan warfare, culminating in a series of votes this week that thwarted a threatened Republican filibuster.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has long championed national health care reform, but now that it is finally advancing, he is raising concerns about the $3 billion annual price tag he says it will cost California.

But reform supporters, including Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, say the benefits of reform for the state far outweigh the costs.